Num 11:24-30
| In vv. 10-15 Moses complained to God that he could no longer carry the burden of the people by himself. God promised to take some of the spirit from Moses and put it on the seventy elders so that they could help Moses carry the people. Because of the people's complaining God threatened to give them quails for a whole month until the meat would come out of their nostrils. |
| Yahweh in fact did take the spirit from Moses and put it on the elders, who prophesied--exhibited ecstatic behavior--but only one time. |
| Two others named Eldad and Medad remained in the camp. They also received the spirit and they too exhibited ecstatic behavior. When a young man told on them, Joshua demanded that Moses put a stop to them. Moses refused and instead expressed the wish that all Yahweh's people were prophets and that Yahweh would put his spirit on them. |
| This message offers sharp critique against all tendencies toward hierarchy or agaomst amu who would declare that some in the church, such as clergy, have special privileges. |
The Psalm for the day is Psalm 104:25-35, 37
Gen 1:1-2:4a
| This reading is the creation account ascribed to the priestly writer and is to be contrasted with the creation account of the Yahwist in the rest of chapter 2. |
| The picture of God in Genesis 1 is of a transcendent being, who creates by his word. The creation takes place in six days, with God resting on the seventh day or sabbath. |
| The Old Testament does not contain the doctrine of the Trinity, but earlier generations saw adumbrations of this doctrine in 1:2 "the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters" and 1:26 "Let us make humankind." Most modern scholars would understand the first reference as a description of a wind from God that was howling over the wasteland, while the "us" is now understood as a royal or deliberative plural or even a reference to the divine council (though the divine council does not occur elsewhere in P). |
| Genesis 1 is a hymn of praise for the creator--an altogether appropriate theme for Trinity Sunday. |
| The Decalogue forbids the making of images of the deity. The only permitted image is humankind itself, which exercises God's governance over the world in God's apparent absence. One might naturally apply this imagery to ecological concerns today. |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 8.
Deut 11:18-21, 26-28
| Deut 5:1-11:30 contains homiletical reflections on the basic issues of the Horeb or Sinai covenant. This is followed by the laws of Deuteronomy in 11:31-26:15 and by covenantal ratification rites and sanctions in 26:16-28:68. |
| Verses 18-21 admonish the reader to make the laws of Deuteronomy an integral part of one's being. Some Jews to this day affix verses of scripture in small boxes on their foreheads or arms or place them in a mezuzah on their doorpost. The laws revealed in Deuteronomy are also be taught to the next generation and are to be part of daily conversations. Faithful following of these instructions will have positive results--long life in the land. |
| Verses 26-28 spell out retribution theology: blessings if one obeys and curses if one disobeys (These are spelled out in chap. 28). Turning away from God is defined as following "other gods." The term "other gods" is found primarily in Deuteronomy and deuteronomistic passages in the Old Testament. |
| The importance of obedience to God's will is echoed in the gospel (Matt 7:21-29). The person who acts on the words of Jesus is like a person who built a house on a rock while the person who does not act on these words is like the foolish person who built on sand. |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 31:1-5, 19-24
Hosea 5:15-6:6
| This pericope is set in the context of the Syro-Ephraimitic war when the Northern Kingdom, under Pekah, and Syria, under Rezin, tried to force Ahaz of Judah into an anti-Assyrian alliance. This war also provides the backdrop for Isaiah 7. This issue is addressed by Hosea from 5:8 onwards. |
| Verse 14 depicts God attacking Ephraim and Judah like a wild animal, and verse 15 finds him retreating to his lair, waiting for them to repent and seek God's face. |
| 6:1-3 is a call for repentance, spoken by Ephraim and Judah, that sidesteps the acknowledgment of guilt called for in 5:15. The prayer in itself contains many fine lines: The same God who judges us heals us, and God's appearance is as sure as dawn or seasonal rains. Verse 2 expects God to act momentarily, within two or three days. This verse provides the background for the creed's assertion that Jesus rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. |
| The prophet condemns the prayer of repentance in v. 4 because of its shallowness and fickleness--it is like fog or dew that disappears with the first rays of the sun. Because of this lack of conviction and depth, God has judged Israel through the prophets. It is finally God's judgment that is the sure thing. |
| What God wants, according to v. 6, is steadfast love or loyalty rather than sacrifice, acknowledgment of and obedience to God rather than burnt offerings. Two things should be noted. 1. God's gracious actions toward us carry the hope and expectation that they will be transformative in our lives. To say that God loves us "unconditionally" is at best misleading and at worst dead wrong. 2. Pitting steadfast love against sacrifice is not to deny the validity of the latter. Sacrifices or liturgy are appropriate in their places and God-pleasing. If they replace obedience or if one chooses them over obedience, then they are wrong. |
| Jesus quotes v. 6 in the gospel lesson for today--Matt 9:13 (the entire lesson is Matt 9:9-13, 18-26). |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 50:7-15.
Exod 19:2-8a
| This pericope introduces the main Sinai narrative in Exodus 19-24. Israel actually stays at Sinai until Numbers 10. |
| Verse 4 presents a beautiful image of Yahweh as an eagle carrying its young home on its wings. |
| Verse 5 spells out the positive consequences of keeping the covenant. In this case, Israel will be Yahweh's "prized possession." This term is used to designate Israel--and our--elect status, as if we were the finest Chardonnay in Yahweh's wine closet. |
| According to v. 6, Israel as a body is a priestly kingdom, that is, it should represent Yahweh in priestly fashion to the world. Both this passage and 1 Peter 2:5 speak more of this priestly function of the whole believing community rather than of the individualistic "universal priesthood of all believers." |
| In v. 8 the people willingly accept Yahweh's gracious offer of a covenant relationship and the obligations it involves. |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 100
Jer 20:7-13
| This passage is part of Jeremiah's "confessions," in which he wrestles with Yahweh about the implications of his call. |
| Jeremiah accuses Yahweh of raping him in v. 7 by calling him to be a prophet. In addition, he has become a laughingstock to his contemporaries. |
| Verse 9 talks about his compulsion to prophesy. He would like to be silent, but can't hold the message in. |
| Verse 10 expresses nearly paranoid fears. People have given him the nickname "Terror all around!" because of the harshness of his word of judgment. His best friends are hoping that he will fail. |
| What sustains him, according to vv. 11-12, is the presence of Yahweh in the figure of a mighty warrior. If you have never been under attack, don't be too quick to criticize his passion! |
| As with any psalm of lament, which the Confessions of Jeremiah closely resemble, they ultimately express faith in God. If one trusts God enough, one can tell God anything that is on one's mind. Jeremiah asks retribution for the wicked attacks of his enemies and commits himself in faith to God (v. 12). |
| Verse 13 is a song of thanksgiving since he knows that God has delivered him. |
| But vv. 14-18, not included in the lectionary, plunge the prophet back into the depths of despair. He curses the day of his birth; in fact he wishes that his mother would have been eternally pregnant so that he would never have been born. He wishes that the person who spread the news about his birth had killed him pre natally instead. He wonders why he was born to see such trouble. |
| When one comes to the end of the chapter, one needs to return to the complaints at its beginning, to the sure "gospel" in vv. 11-12, and to the rock-solid faith in the last line of v. 12. |
| This Confession gives an opportunity for the public processing of pain in worship, taking our concerns to the place--God--where they will do the most good. |
The psalm for the day is Ps 69:8-11, [12-17], 18-20.
Jeremiah 28:5-9
| In Jer 27:1-7 Yahweh instructed Jeremiah to wear a yoke around his neck and to tell all the surrounding nations that have come to Jerusalem to join a coalition against Babylon that they are to submit to the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. This seems to have taken place in 594 or 593 BCE. Interestingly, Ezekiel was called in the very same year, in Babylon, to announce that there was no way around the fated end of Jerusalem. Jeremiah repeated these instructions to King Zedekiah in Jer 27:12-15. |
| In Jer 28:1-4 the false prophet Hananiah contests this message and contradicts the word of Jeremiah. He quotes Yahweh as saying that within two years all the vessels which have been taken from the temple to Babylon will be returned to Jerusalem. Yahweh will also supposedly restore the exiled King Jehoiachin to the throne. Note that Hananiah's name means "Yahweh is gracious" and that he claims to have a direct oracle from Yahweh: "Thus says Yahweh of the heavenly armies." To the observer it was prophet versus prophet, both claiming that they were speaking for Yahweh, both with names professing that status as followers of Yahweh. |
| In v. 6 Jeremiah says that he wishes Hananiah's word were true: "May Yahweh fulfill the word you have prophesied." But in v. 7 he reminds the audience that prophets characteristically announce bad news. |
| Therefore, if a prophet says that everything is going to be ok (here called a "prophet of peace"), one knows that prophet to be true only when his word comes true. An American audience is not likely to understand that a "prophet of peace" is a false prophet in this case unless the lector explains it to them. |
| The limits of the Old Testament lesson leave the hearer in the lurch in any case. In vv. 10-11, Hananiah performs a symbolic act by breaking the yoke that Jeremiah wore. Jeremiah himself seems puzzled at first and "goes his way." |
| In vv. 12-16, we are told that Jeremiah received a second word from Yahweh that indicates that Yahweh will now make an unbreakable yoke of iron. All the nations earlier referred to, including Judah, and including even the wild animals, will serve Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah then directly makes the charge against Hananiah that Yahweh has not sent him and that he is trying to make the people trust in a lie. A direct oracle of Yahweh puts Hananiah under a death sentence. In v. 17 Hananiah dies, proving that the word of Jeremiah is in fact the true one. |
| Several preaching strategies might be used with this text. One could discuss how the believer sometimes has to deliver a hard word against society, not all its plans will turn out ok. Hananiah seems to have been playing to the grandstand, trying to gain popularity. He promised deliverance with no repentance. The other strategy would be to discuss how we know today whether the word of a prophet--or any religious teacher or teaching--is true. The answer suggested by this text is that that word or teaching is true that conforms to God's overall message. In the case of Jeremiah, no deliverance is possible without repentance. Christians often must decide on the appropriateness of current theological proposals on whether they are supported by, or give articulation to, the saving gift of salvation by grace for Christ's sake through faith. |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18
Zechariah 9:9-12
| Zechariah 9-14 is thought to be later than Zechariah 1-8 and probably should be dated somewhere in the 5th century BCE. |
| The messianic prediction of a king arriving on a donkey is seen by Christians as fulfilled in Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. |
| The exhortations to daughter Zion/Jerusalem in v. 9 are terms of endearment. Older translations usually rendered these "daughter of Zion" or "daughter of Jerusalem." |
| The most characteristic feature of Hebrew poetry is parallelism, well exemplified in v. 9 which speaks of the king's animal as a donkey, aye, as a colt the foal of a donkey. |
| This king comes in peace, on a donkey, and not on a war horse. While exercising a broad dominion--from sea to sea--this king comes in peace and destroys military armaments. |
| The blood of the covenant in v. 11 harks back to the covenant sealed by a blood ceremony in Exod 24:8. Christians will naturally refer it to the "blood of the new covenant" and the Eucharist. |
| Verse 12 enunciates a beautiful metaphor: "prisoners of hope." One naturally thinks of prisoners as despondent. The double restoration of the people of God signals them as God's firstborn and echoes Isa 40:2. |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 145:8-15.
Isaiah 55:10-13
| These verses close off Second Isaiah (chaps. 40-55), a prophetic writing completed between 547 and 540 BCE. At the end of his writing Second Isaiah hails the sureness of the Word of Yahweh, which had also been his theme at the beginning of his work in 40:1-8. |
| The prophet compares the sureness of Yahweh's word of promise to the regularity and effectiveness of rain and snow, which do not just bounce back to the sky, but soak into the ground and bring forth abundant crops. |
| God's word too does not return to God empty-handed, but carries out the tasks God has assigned to it. |
| Verse 12 returns to the theme of a new Exodus, which has emerged often in the previous sixteen chapters. The deliverance of Israel will lead to a new creation, a re-creation, of nature. The mountains and hills will hail this day with singing, and all the trees will give liberated Israel a standing ovation. Instead of weeds and other noxious plants there will be cypress and myrtle. |
| These events will lead to Yahweh's honor; they will be an everlasting sign which will never lose its effectiveness. |
| The Gospel for the day, Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23, also deals with the effectiveness of the word of God although that effectiveness varies with the different responses of those who hear it. |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 65:1-14, especially vv. 9-14.
Isaiah 44:6-8
| Second Isaiah (ca. 547-540 BCE) makes some of the clearest monotheistic statements in the Old Testament. The pericope for this Sunday is usually classified as a trial speech against the gods. |
| "Redeemer" is a favorite epithet of God in Second Isaiah. It expresses strong feelings of kinship. We might paraphrase by saying that God is the best father or mother we ever had. |
| Note the many statements dealing with Yahweh's uniqueness or incomparability: I am the first and the last; besides me there is no God; Is there any god besides me? There is no other (divine) rock. |
| Yahweh claims that he has been able to announce things before they happened while the so-called gods of Babylon have utterly failed at that project. He challenges them: let them tell us what is yet to be. |
| In urging the people of God not to fear, Yahweh also challenges them to be witnesses of his power to save. |
| the following verses 9-20 mock idol worshipers. |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 86:11-17.
1 Kings 3:5-12
| This pericope describes a dream of Solomon in which he asks God for wisdom, which God readily grants, but then adds a promise of riches and honor (vv. 13-14). Strangely, the lectionary reading does not contain these last two verses. |
| The two verses preceding this pericope report that while Solomon loved the Lord, he also sacrificed at the "high places." In fact his dream takes place at Gibeon, the principal high place at that time where Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings. In retelling the history of Israel, the later book of Chronicles claims that the tabernacle was actually located at Gibeon at this time. |
| When God appears to Solomon and offers to give him whatever he wants, Solomon recounts the faithfulness of his father David and the reciprocal fidelity of Yahweh in maintaining loyalty to David and putting his son Solomon on the throne. While Solomon seems unmoved by David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah, his reference to David's fidelity may refer primarily to David's monotheism and his loyalty to Jerusalem. |
| Solomon confesses his feelings of inadequacy in view of the great number of people whom he must govern. He requests an understanding mind to facilitate his rule. |
| God congratulates Solomon for not asking for riches or military victory and grants him a wise and discerning mind, without parallel. But he also grants him riches and honor. Solomon's wisdom is shown in the next verses as he adjudicates between two prostitutes, one of whose children has died (vv. 16-28). Solomon's wealth is also attested in many of the following chapters (e.g. 1 Kgs 10:26-29). |
| Verse 14 is a conditional promise: if Solomon is obedient, he will live a long life. |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 73:23-29 (NRSV vv. 23-28), a wisdom psalm.
Isaiah 55:1-5
| The opening two verses of this pericope are an invitation by Yahweh to a free divine banquet. As divine king, Yahweh imitates earthly kings at their inaugurations. |
| The passage is filled with irony. Those who are hungry and thirsty are invited to "buy" without money and without price. People spend money and work hard for that which does not benefit them. Christian preachers may wish to refer to the free banquet offered in the Eucharist. |
| Verses 3-5 ring the changes on the old promises to David (cf. 2 Samuel 7). God promises to make with "you," that is, the whole community an everlasting covenant, the sure promises to David. Hence the covenant is democratized. What had formerly been promised to David and his dynasty is now promised to everyone. This is a good example of a hermeneutical application, where the prophet takes "what was once meant" and shows what it might mean in his time. Strictly speaking, there is no messianic hope in Second Isaiah, and the only messiah mentioned is Cyrus the Persian (Isa 45:1). |
| Just as David ruled nations, so the people are promised that the nations will acknowledge them. The guarantor of this promise is Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel. |
| The gospel for the day is Matthew 14:13-21, the (free) feeding of the 5,000. |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 145:8-9, 15-22
1 Kings 19:9-18
| This pericope tells of Elijah's pilgrimage to Sinai where he hears the "still small voice." |
| When God asks him what he is doing there, Elijah expresses his despair. He feels that the Israelites have forsaken the covenant and killed the prophets. Elijah feels like the last believer on earth--and folks would like to kill him! |
| Elijah experiences a divine theophany, but Yahweh was not really present in the wind, earthquake, or fire. After all that came "sheer silence" or "the still small voice" in older translations. Yahweh seems to be rejecting the usual signs of theophany associated with Baal. |
| Afterwards, Elijah is again questioned by Yahweh and he again complains about the faithlessness of the Israelites and his own peril. |
| Yahweh gives him three assignments: a. to anoint Hazael as king over Aram/Syria; b. to anoint Jehu as king over Israel; c. to anoint Elisha as his own successor. The first two--Hazael and Jehu--achieved their offices violently. Judgment will come to Israel through them, and those not punished by them will run into the deadly words of Elisha. It is actually Elisha who anoints Hazael and Jehu. |
| Still God promises that he will leave 7,000 in Israel who have not succumbed to Baal worship. Elijah is not the last believer after all. Kissing the image of Baal was apparently a common act of worship (cf. Hos 13:2). |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 85:8-13
Isa 56:1, 6-8
| Isaiah 56-66 (Third Isaiah) is generally dated to the early post-exilic period, when the soaring hopes of Second Isaiah met the diminished reality of life in the land. |
| The first verse is a command to practice justice and righteousness. In Hebrew the words "what is right" and "my deliverance" are identical. That is, our "righteousness" echoes the righteousness/deliverance of Yahweh and is enabled by it. In the OT "righteousness" means basically faithfulness to a relationship. |
| Verse 6 offers an inclusive view of the community. Foreigners who keep the Sabbath are full members of the community. Verse 7 adds that the temple will be considered a house of prayer for all peoples. This verse is known also from the words of Jesus where he contrasts this large view of the temple with those who have made it a den of thieves. |
| Incidentally, the second part of that quotation is changed from its original context in Jer 7:11. The prophet had criticized Israel for sinning and then running to the temple for cheap grace as if it were a place were crooks could hang out. |
| Verse 8 repeats the inclusive message of the passage. |
| The omitted verses, 2-5, include eunuchs in the vision of the new people of God. They are no longer to say "I am a dry tree." They will be given "a monument and a name" that is better than the sons and daughters they could have engendered if they had not been castrated. "Monument and a name" is Yad Wa Shem in Hebrew, the name of the famous Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. It provides a monument and name for those Jews martyred during the second World War. |
The psalm for the day is Psalm 67.